Fabric-treating machine



June 24, 1930;- w. w. SIBSON I FABRIC TREATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: mlier Wflbsom,

' M ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES June 24, 1930.

w. w. SIBSON FABRIC TREATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QH w M2 ws INVENTOR: Walter Wfltbsam WITNESSES TTORNEYS.

.W. W. SIBSON FABRIC TREATING MACHINE June 24, 1930.

Filed Sept. 12, 1929 4 Sheets$heet 5 INVENTOR- Walter T/vfflibson',

fiTTOR/VEYS.

- WITNESSES June 24, 1930. I w. w. SIBSON FABRIC' TREATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1929 -ll m= w .l. 1 I a c m X WITNESSES Patented June 24', 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALTER W. SIIBSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PHILA- DELPHIA DRYING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA FABRIC-TREATING MACHINE I This invention'relates to fabric treating machines and, more particularly, to that type or class of machines commonly known as tenter-dryers forstretching and drying textile materials. V In machines of the class referred to, the

cloth treated is customarily stretched and of cloth and, as an obvious consequence, said cloth becomes hotter and hotter, as the drying proceeds, and finally emerges from the machine in a highly overheated or baked condition. Cloth so treated, when delivered from the machine is usually wound up into large rolls or bolts, which require considerable time to cool down, with the disadvanta'ge that, as such cooling takes place from the outside surfaces and edges inwardly, there is frequently develo ed in said cloth 5 a streaky or shaded cond1tion detrimental not only to the finished appearance but also to its commercial value.

The primary object of my invention is to overcome the noted objectionable features by passing the diying medium transversely v of the material treated in one direction across one region or section of the drying chamber, and then returning it in thereverse direction across the other section of said chamber.

provision in a fabric treating machine, of

the type referred to, of control means- A furtherobject'of the invention is to provide, in a machine of the character specified, means whereby a supply of fresh cooling medium is counter-traversed through that portion of the machine segregated to the final run of the material treated; and

associated means by which a variable quantity of the cooling medium, with its chilling to effect partially reduced, is diverted into the Another object of this invention is the Application filed September 12, 1929. Serial No. 392,056.

My igvention still further comprehends other -fe tures of construction which, in addition to those above stated, are fully set forth hereinafter and specifically recited in the claims. The invention is illustrated in a preferred form in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification; although it will be readily appreciated that such drawings are purely illustrative and by way of enabling my invention I to be clearly understood. I

In the drawings: Fig, I is a more or less diagrammatic side view of a tenter-drying machine embodying the present improvements, minor portions be ng broken out to better disclose underlying features. I

the plane designated II-.II in Fig. I.

Fig. III is a similar plan view, taken on the plane indicated bythe arrows HI -III in Fig. I. j

' Fig. IV is a longitudinal vertical section through the treating chamber.

Fig. V taken on the plane designated V-V in Fig. I.

Fig. VI-is a view, similar to Fig. I, of

a modified form of the invention; and,

Fig. VII is a sectional view, taken on the plane marked VI IVII in the preceding illustration.

Referring more in detail to Figs. I--V, the numeral 1 comprehensively designates is a transverse vertical -section,

Y 0 Fig. II is a sectlonal plan vlew, taken on an inclosure or drying chamber of conventional construction, the same embodying a top or roof 2, bottom or floor 3, side walls 4 and end walls 5. This chamber 1 is conven ently of rectangular formation and subdlvided by a vertically-disposed longitudinal partition 6, extending downwardly from the roof 2, in parallelism with one of the side walls 5, to thereby-in partdefine a vertical section 7 in which is located the heater unit 8. This heater unit 8 may be of any lated a heating medium, such, for example, as steam. Suitable controls-not shown may be fitted in connection with the heater unit 8, so that various drying temperatures may be obtained in the chamber 1, for differing service conditions.

(Jo-extensive with the lower edge of the vertical partition 6 is a fixed or stationary lateral partition 9 which, as will be best appreciated from Fig. V, extends horizontally part-way across the chamber- 1, from the aforesaid partition 6, intermediate a pair of the runs of'the material M being treated. This lateral partition 9, it is to be noted, is of a width to leave a substantial clearance between its free edgeand the proximate track rails 10 over which the tenter conveyor chains 11 are progressed; and co-operative with said partition I provide a sliding member or shutter-plate 12, the purpose of which is tolvary the circulatory flow of the drying medium for. differing widths of material M treated. In other words, when a narrower width of material M than that indicated is to be treated, the sliding shutter.- plate 12 is moved, by appropriate means not shown, over the lateral partition 9 toward the vertical partition 6 in an obvious manner, and vice versa. Attention is also directed to the fact that the two elements 9, 12 jointly divide the inclosure space into upper and lower circulatory sections 13, 14, respectively, for a purpose later on explained.

Paralleling the inclosure floor 3 and located above the final run of the material M, on

' its way to the delivery end of the machine,

is a horizontal partition or inner floor 15 that sets apart a cooling compartment or duct 16, through which atmospheric airpreferably from outside the building in which the machine is located-i's forced by means of a suitable blower 17. Discharge of the cooling air from the compartment 16 is by way of an appropriate outlet 18 exhausting to atmosphere or otherwise, as desired; and it is to be particularly noted that in connection with this outlet 18 I provide an adjustable damper 19, whereby a portion of the air flowing through the compart ment 16 is diverted, in a semi-preheated con- .idition, into the heater section 7. This diversion of semi-preheated air from the comartment 16 into the main inclosure embracing the sections 7, 13 and 14, controllably replenishes the moisture-laden exhaust'therefrom; as well as increasing the efliciency of the machine appreciably by avoidance of chilling the section 7, more particularly.

There is quite an advantage accruing to delivery of the material M from the machine in a cooled condition by passage of 1ts final run through the compartment or duct-16, as

it not only has a better feel but also a much better appearance; and, furthermore,

does not tend to develop streaks or uneven shades: while it is in a much better condition to absorb and retain the proper amount of moisture regain essential to certain classes of material.

Circulation and re-circulation of the' drying medium is effected by means'of a series of vertically rotating fans 20 journaled in housings 21 secured to the hereinbefore referred to vertical partition 6. The shafts 22 for the fans 20 pass through truncate fittings 23, intermediate the partition 6 and the proximate side wall 4, where they are provided with suitable means, such as the belt drives 24 shown, for co-ordination with a countershaft 25, having a main drive pulley 26 con necting with any convenient source of power.

Progression of the material M through the inclosure 1 is efiected by means of suitable mechanism-not showndriven by a chain and sprocket drive 27, for example, connecting with a variable speed device 28, in turn co-ordinated by a drive 29 with the counter-shaft 25 above referred to. In order to prevent too great an accumulation of highly saturated air in either or both of the drying sections 13, 14, I provide an exhaust fan 30, conveniently mounted on the roof 2 of the inclosure 1, and operatively connected to the counter-shaft 25 by a suitable drive 31, thereby to remove the moist air from said inclosure, as well as to maintain the proper drying conditions within the machine.

In some forms of tenter-driers it is desirable that the treating inclosure be subdivided so as to set up and maintain differing drying temperatures and conditions practically independent of one another. Such a machine is illustrated by the modified form of my invention shown in Figs. VI and VII, and it is to be noted that all those parts corresponding with the preced ing descriptive matter are similarly distinguished by like reference numerals with the added. suffix a, in order to avoid unnecessary repetitive description. In all major respects the inclosure 1, of the just referred to views, conforms with that previously described excepting the addition of a horizontal partition 32 which completely separates said inclosure into relatively independent upper and lower treating sections 33, 34, respectively; while a cooling compartment 16 is provided therebelow, as before set forth. Each of the treating sections 33, 34, is in turn subdivided as before described and fitted with a heater unit 8, circulating fans 20 and shutter-plates 12; while communication between said sections is solely afforded, insofar as circulation of the treating medium is concerned, by way of a connecting conduit 35, with a damper control 36. This damper control 36 renders possible the maintenance of a certain drying temperature and condition in the upper treating section 33 independent of the conditions prevailing in the lower section 34,

as the respective fan systems and heater,

units 8 may be controlled and operated independently of each other in an obvious manner, while the general circulation of treating medium through the entire ma.- chine remains continuous as before described.

In the embodiment of my invention under consideration, the lower series of fans 20" are co-ordinated by belt drives 37, 38Fi VIfor operation from the counter-sha t while the upper series of fans 20. are

driven by belts 39, from a second counterso hot air drawn thereacross by the said fans for re-passage aboutthe heater unit 8 and;

constant re-circulation in an obvious manner. A similar course-obtains in the modi fied form of my invention shown by Figs. VI and VII, with the additional advantage that when it is desired to use a greater amount-of air circulation and higher drying temperature at the commencement of the treating operation or in the upper section 33, and less air circulation'at a lower temperature toward the finish, or during passage of the material M, through the lower section 34 the same isreadiIy accomplished by the means hereinbefore referred to. Such conditions, however, may be reversed if desired, while the damper 36 serves to regulate a controllable flow of the air from thelower section 34 to the upper section 33.

Following proper drying of the material M it finally passes through thecooling compartment 16 or 16 and emerges from the inclosure 1 in a highly satisfactory condi tion for rollinginto bolts or other form for storage, moisture regain, or other desired purpose or treatment.

While I have hereln illustrated certain desirable forms of my invention, it is to be distinctly understood the same are purely' exemplary, and that variations in size, shape,

proportion, and the relative arrangement of the respective partsmay be made without departure from the scope of the following claims. 4

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A material treating machine compris-- ing an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define communicating .treating 'sections; means for progressing material through said sections in paralleling runs; means circulating drying medium across the material in the respective sections; and a movable .means controlling the extent of communication between said sections to accommodate difiering widths of material passed through the machine.

2. A material treating machine comprising an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define superposed communicating treating sections and a relatively separate cooling compartment; means for progressing material through the treating sections in paralleling runs, with the final run traversing the cooling compartment; means circulating drying medium across the material in the respective superposed sections; and movable means controlling the extent of communication between the treating sections to accommodate differing widths of material,

passed through the machine.

3. A material treat-'ng machine comprising an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define superposed communicating treating sections and-a relatively separate cooling compartment; means for progressing material through the treating sections in paralleling runs, with'the final run traversing the cooling compartment; means circulating drying medium across the material in the respective superposed sections; means efiective to flow fresh air continuously through the cooling compartment; and shutter means controlling the extent of communication between the treating sections to accommodate differing widths of material passed through the machine.

4. A material treating machine compris-' ing an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define superposed communicating treating sections and a relatively separate cool- I ing compartment; means for progressing material through the treating sections in paralleling runs, with the final run traversing the cooling compartment; means cir- -culating drying medium across the material in the respective superposed sections;-mea ns causlng fresh an to continuously flow through the cooling compartment counter directional with'respect to final run of the material; and shutter means controlling the extent of communication between the treating sections to accommodate differing widths of material passed through the machine..

5.' A material treating mach ne compris- I ing an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define. superposed communicating treating sectlons and a relatively separate cooling fresh air, with its chilling effect reduced, is

diverted from the cooling compartment into the treating sections to replenish moistureladen atmosphere exhausted therefrom and shutters controlling the extent of communication between the treating sections to accommodate differing widths of material passed through the machine.

6. A material treating machine comprising an inclosure' subdivided by partitions to define superposed communicating drying sectlons and a relatively separate cooling compartment; means for progressing material through the drying sections in horizontal paralleling runs, with the final run segregated to the cooling compartment; means blowing heated air transversely across certain runs of the material in one direction and returning same in the reverse direction across other runs of said material; means forcing fresh air continuously through the cooling compartment counter-directionally to the advancing material; means whereby a variable quantity of the cooling air with the cooling effect reduced is diverted from the cooling compartment into the drying sections; and shutters controlling the extent of communication between the respective drying sections, for the purposes specified.

A material treating machine comprising an-inclosure subdivided by partitions to define relatively separate superposed drying chambers and an underlying independent cooling compartment; means subdividing each drying chamber into communicating sections with a flanking heater section com-' mon thereto; means to progress material through the drying chambers in horizontal paralleling runs, with the final run segregated to the cooling compartment; means circulating heated air transversely across the material in the drying chafnbers; shutters controlling the extent of communica-' tion between the respective drying chamber section's; means causing fresh air to continuously flow through the cooling compartment counter-directional to the advancing material; and means whereby a variable quantity of the cooling air is diverted from the cooling compartment to replenish moisture-laden atmosphere exhausted from the machine.

8. A material treating machine comprisdrying chambers and an underlying independent cooling compartment; means subdividing each drying chamber into communicating sections with a flanking heater section common thereto; means to progress material'throughthe drying chambers in horiquantity of the cooling air is diverted from the cool ng compartment into one of the drying c ambers; and a flow connection between said drying chambers with a variable control, for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 10th day of September, 1929.

WVALTER W. SIBSON.

ing an inclosure subdivided by partitions to define relatively separate superposed 

